Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
Matthew 19:27

I was listening to our youth minister, Anthony, retell his adventure waiting at the check out line at a grocery store. As he humorously shared the frustration of waiting in the express lane on a busy Saturday I couldn’t help but relate. We all play the same game of trying to guess which lane will be the fastest. I frequently travel to the store for the little things that we need restocked at our house on an almost daily basis (milk, cereal, etc). I have gotten it down to an art. However, I have come to the realization that picking the fastest lane at the checkout is the closest I come to gambling! I don’t always win.
How many Christians go through life looking for the lane that will be most convenient and be the least demanding? If churches started modeling themselves after the local market everyone would be lining up for the services 15 items or less version. (Maybe they could do a self-check out version where the entire experience was offered digitally with the push of a button!) Although, there is something to be said of modern convenience, the grace of Christ is not to be measured in these terms. We are not being graded on a point scale. Following Jesus is all or not. The problem is that many Christians have bought into the lie that they can some how develop a deep relationship with Jesus Christ without the cost of commitment. As Peter and the other apostles learned, your relationship to Jesus demands a new evaluating of all things. Being faithful to Christ moves the believer to live in ways that are humanly impossible. Christ’s views toward sexual immorality, marriage, children, the poor, the rich are not simple and convenient. They shake us to our core. Following Jesus teachings can only happen when we rely on God.
When we say we believe, we are confessing that we will give up ourselves in exchange for Jesus. Christ wants ALL of you. Is it worth the cost?